Viewing The Son as the Sun

During the difficult trials that we go through in life, it can sometimes be tough to keep our faith in Christ. In the death of a family member, while facing illness or disability, or in the loss of a job, there may seem to be no evidence of a loving God. This past weekend brought quite a bit of rain to my area; it was very grey and without any sunshine. This rainy weekend had me reflecting on an idea: that in such hardships, it can be beneficial to view Christ and the feeling of being loved by Him in the same way as we view the sun and it's light.

The Lord does not promise us that this life will be easy. He promises us struggles and persecution. Yet when we actually face these, it can be tempting to abandon our faith. "A good and loving God couldn't possibly allow such awful things to happen," we think. We do not feel the love of Christ or His graces, and so we cease to believe in Him. However, when the sky is covered by dark clouds on a cold and rainy day, where the sun is neither seen nor felt, don't we still believe in it? We know that it has not stopped existing, or has forgotten about us and found a new spot in the universe to shine on. We know that behind all the clouds, the sun is in the same place as always and is continuing to keep us alive the same way it always does. Similarly, when the evil and the difficulties of this world block out the feeling of God's love for us, we can trust that He is still existing behind these. He has not forgotten you. He is loving us and keeping us alive the same as He always does, even if we can't see it at the time.

But what would happen if we could always see and feel God's love in our lives? Let's think of this another way. What if the sun was always shining? Years and years on end without clouds, rain, or even night. It probably wouldn't take too long for us to grow tired of that. But more importantly, we would take the sunlight, it's beauty, and it's benefits for granted. And after an extended period of rain and darkness, we would have a new appreciation of the sun once it reemerges. If, through all our lives, we constantly felt the presence and love of Christ, while enjoying abundant graces, this, too would be taken for granted. We would easily forget where our good fortute comes from, and may even begin to believe that it is all due to "luck" or our own hard work. A "dark night of the soul" period will remind us how immensely we rely on the grace of God, despite how hard we work to keep our lives in order. And once we feel His love and experience His graces again, we will appreciate Him all the more.

So not only would we not want the sun constantly shining, but we need it not to. We need nighttime and rainy days to sustain life on Earth. Just as plants couldn't grow without the rainfall, we cannot grow spiritually unless we experience hardships. We learn most about God and ourselves in the trenches of life. And here is where we learn to love God not for what He gives us or how He makes us feel, but for His own sake. We love God the most when we love Him through the bad times. And although we may not feel it through these times, God ALWAYS loves us!